Friday, April 13, 2012

Happy Pana Sankranti with chatua


Also celebrated as the Odiya New Year! Happy Odiya Nua Barsa!
We celebrate all our festivals with food - of course. Usually it is very hot in Odisha by this time and we offer panna (a special drink) as offering to God. I had made fruity pana a few years back and I have also posted  mango pana. The pana that is most popular in Odisha for panna sankranti is bela pana. All these drinks help in cooling the body!


My mother in law offers chatua as offering to god on Pana Sankranti along with the Watermelon Pana. Chatua is a very healthy mixture of whole grains, pulses and nuts. The whole grains are dry roasted in low fire and so are the pulses and nuts. Then the mixture is sent over to the local neighborhood mill for grinding. It is mixed with milk and banana and gur (jaggery)  and served to god. Then you can add additional fruits and enjoy. The left over mixture of chatua powder can be stored in an air tight container and eaten for breakfast.

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat grains
1/2 cup channa dal or bengal grams
1/2 cup Barley or Jowar seeds (I didn't have it, so I didn't use it)
handful of peanuts
1/2 handful of cashews (use any nuts of your choice)
1/4 cup of gur (Jaggery)
1  banana
2-3 cups of milk (add more if you want a thinner consistency)
fruits of your choice (I used apple, orange and cucumber)
fresh coconut flakes (optional)

How To

Dry roast the wheat grains, bengal gram one by one. Do the same for the nuts. Easier to dry roast them separately so that you don't burn anything.
Once the nuts and pulses and grains cool, grind them in your grinder of your choice. I used my coffee/spice grinder and did them in small batches.The chatua powder is ready.
Mix the chatua powder with milk and mashed bananas and jaggery.
Add fruits and coconut flakes as per taste and enjoy.



Additionally I saw  in the news that chatua powder is being offered as a cheap and healthy supplement for pregnant and lactating mothers in Odisha.

44 comments:

  1. Happy new year.. This powder sounds very healthy Thanks for sharing this traditional recipe..

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    1. @Rekhas - yes I have to thank my mausi sasu (my mother in law's sister) for the recipe...
      It is very healthy!

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  2. This recipe is indeed a very healthy and suitable for modern day kitchens to. The powder you made is almost like a ready health drink that can be made into a morning smoothie. Thanks for the recipe. Our traditional food is so healthy, thanks to these festivals we remember them and revive them.
    Happy new year to you and your readers too Soma.

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    1. @Sangeeta - yes it is very healthy and also sold in the markets in Odisha. But I am sure the home made ones will be so much more healthy!
      I agree, the traditional recipes were so healthy, unique and perfect for us!
      Thanks for dropping by!

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  3. Happy new year. Wonderful platter indeed

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  4. Such a healthy dish, with whole grains, protein and spices, and I would love to taste that wonderful spread, am going read your watermelon pana..

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    1. @Hema - thanks... I hope you like the watermelon pana too...

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  5. Happy New Year my Dear. I like the watermelon pana and what a healthy way to start the year with chatua- wonderful recipe!

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    1. Glad you liked the watermelon pana. I had no idea it is offered to god as offering, until my mil did...
      Chatua is so healthy - you are right!

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  6. delicious inviting dishes.happy new year dear.
    maha

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  7. Delicious and healthy powder. Happy New year to you and your family.

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  8. Somoo is chatua powder and chatu or sattu are same. love the colour of this drink. very flavourful and cooling.

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    1. After reading on the web, I think the 2 are same... Thanks @Sayantani

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  9. First time hearing about this dish .. very new and different.

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  10. Belated new year wishes,hope u had a wonderful time..Chatua n the drink looks divine,nice pics..

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  11. This recipe sounds new to me.. Bookmarked it! Following u.. Do visit my space.

    http://rasoithekitchen.blogspot.com/

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  12. @Miriam, @Kanchan, @Vrina, @Reshmi - thanks all!

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  13. This is quite new to me :) looks wonderful !

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  14. Very nice post, the recipe sounds indeed healthy with those grains and nuts :)

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  15. Very new to me....love the protein punch recipe....

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  16. I havent had this in ages!! Since the time I left Bhubaneshwar many years ago, in fact. WIth your recipe bookmarked, I can now recreate this drink that I had a couple of times as a kid.

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    1. @Swati - super easy too. Let me know if you try it...

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  17. My parents favorite is Bela Pana - not so much for me due to it's texture. Happy belated new year..umm, Chatua..this is a proper Odiya post! :)

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    1. @Pragyan - Bela pana is the real thing. But even I dont like it that much...
      This one I like!

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  18. Belated New year wishes dear. In my village too we use such kind of powder and mix with the same...one variation....instead of wheat we use rice.we call this as sathu mavu (native recipe):) sounds lil similar! But never seen anywhere in Tamilnadu. Happy to see this. Lovely presentation. Pana too looks comforting.

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    Replies
    1. @Viki , the name Sathu is similar to something that Sayantani pointed out too...
      Such a healthy food!

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  19. Belated New Year wishes dear, the recipe looks so healthy n yummy.

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  20. the recipe looks absolutely yummy !!!!happy belated new year dear !!!


    http://www.onlyfishrecipes.com/

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  21. Beautiful blog to stumble upon..
    yummy recipes too..
    http://nayana-homesweethome.blogspot.com/

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  22. Hi Somoo, thanks for stopping by my blog. I haven't been blogging frequently because my toddler keeps me busy. I'm glad you are posting wonderful pics and recipes. Keep up the good work!

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  23. Thanks a lot for Chatua recipe. As a kid it was my staple breakfast. I never used to chew my food in the morning , so my mother used to make chatua regularly so that I can just drink my chatua :) :). I was looking for chatua recipe for some time now. I will try this recipe today. Again thanks a lot.

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